Steam iron



H. W. MARTIN Feb. 13, 1968 STEAM IRON 3 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Aug. 20,1965 n H m R OM H m N W Rm WM T 0 A m m 7 WITNESSES H. W. MARTIN Feb.13, 1968 STEAM IRON 3 Sheets-Sheet i Filed Aug. 20, 1965 FIG. 9.

H. W. MARTIN STEAM IRON Feb. 13', 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. 20,1966 l l l t l l I United States Patent 3,368,294 STEAM IRON Harold W.Martin, Shelby, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation,Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 20, 1965, Ser.No. 481,252 9 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thisinvention relates, in general, to electrically heated flat irons and,more particularly, to a steam iron of the flash type also useful as adry iron.

Electrically heated flat irons normally have a resistance heatingelement or elements in the soleplate and are provided with a thermostatin conjunction therewith for automatically controlling the temperatureof the heating elemerit or elements and, consequently, the temperatureof the soleplate. The thermostat is manually adjustable to permitselection of appropriate ironing temperatures for fabrics of variouscompositions. While the thermostat is necessarily located at or near thesoleplate, the adjusting means is preferably at a cooler location, whereit can be readily manipulated by the user of the iron. Steam irons have,in addition to such provisions for temperature control, certainapparatus features necessitated by the adaptation for steam ironing.These may include one or more manual controls for limiting the admissionof water into a storage reservoir, and the emission of water therefrom,into a flash or vaporization chamber, for example. Of course, it isdesirable to have these controls readily available to, but not in theway of, the user, a common place being at the front of the handle. Fromthis standpoint it is desirable to use a round knob control in lieu ofthe lever type control since the lever may be inadvertently moved whencaught by clothing, furthermore, rotation of the lever is somewhatlimited.

As proper operation and wholehearted acceptance of the iron by theconsumer depend on simplicity, reliability and cost of the respectivecontrol mechanisms, as well as the rest of the components, it isdesirable to minimize ice heating element for the soleplate thereof anda thermostat for controlling the soleplate temperature and having awater reservoir and means for controlling emission of water from thereservoir, by providing a handle adapted to receive a round knob in aposition overlying the front leg of the handle such that the top surfaceof the knob lies substantially in the same plane with the top surface ofthe hand gripping portion of the handle. The front leg is provided witha cam surface which cooperates with a cam follower, carried by thecontrol knob and movable therewith, to open and close an inlet valve tothe vaporization chamber between the soleplate and a cover plate securedthe manipulations required thereby on the part of the user I and,consequently, the number of components utilized in the apparatus.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a newand improved steam iron.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a steam ironhaving controls which utilize a minimum number of parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedcombination steam and dry iron control comprising structure forproviding two off positions.

Still another, object of this invention is to provide a steam iron theparts of which can be simply manufactured and assembled thereby reducingthe cost thereof.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a steam iron with asingle means for controlling temperature of the soleplate and flow ofwater from the reservoir into the vaporization chamber.

Briefly, the above-cited objects of the present invention areaccomplished, in a steam iron having an electrical thereto by means of asuitable silastic material. It should be pointed out that the coverplate in prior art devices is usually secured to the soleplate byordinary hardware, for example, screws.

The knob itself is provided on its underside with a set of cam surfaces,so positioned, as to cooperate with a cam follower in the form of anactuating rod for changing the setting of a thermostat in response tomovement of the control knob thereby changing the temperature to whichthe soleplate will be raised. The cams form a continuous annular grooveof approximately 330 thereby providing the knob with two extremepositions of rotation each of which corresponds to an off position,whereat, exactly the same adjustment of the cam follower, that changesthe setting of the thermostat, is effected. The cams at the endpositions are bounded by the walls of the groove thereby providingpositive end stops.

It will be appreciated that such an arrangement is most convenient forthose persons who are accustomed to turning the temperature control tothe extreme or oflf position by turning the control knob in thespecified direction without regard to the actual alignment of the properindicia and index upon the control and handle. It sometimes happens thatinstead of turning the iron to the off position, the user inadvertentlyturns it to the hottest setting by relying on what may be termed anautomatic conditioned action.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out in particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a steam ironincorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a control knob and a fragmentof the handle upon which the knob is supported for rotation;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of an iron handle;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the control knob show ing the cam thatregulates the thermostat setting;

FIG. 5 is a developed view of the cam illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VIVI of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VII--VII of FIG. 4,superimposed on a cross-sectional for the purpose of illustrating anoperative device in which the parts forming the present invention havetheir environment. Thus, the iron comprises a soleplate 11 having aconventional U-shaped heating element 12 embedded therein. A waterreservoir 13, is supported above the soleplate by a bracket 14, securedto the soleplate in a suitable manner.

A steam generating or vaporization chamber 16 is provided in thesoleplate subadjacent a valve seat 17 in the underside of the reservoir13. A plurality of channels 18 (only one shown), connecting thevaporization chamber with a plurality of steam discharge ports (notshown) in the soleplate, serve to convey the steam from the steamgenerating chamber 16 to the discharge ports, A valve stem 19 is adaptedto regulate the flow of water from the reservoir into the chamber in amanner to be hereinafter described. The flow of current to the heatingelement 12 from a power cord (not shown) is effected throughconventional contacts 21 carried by contact arms 22 and 22', alsoconventional. Periodic interruption of current flow to the heatingelement for maintaining the soleplate at a specific temperature iseffected by means of a bimetallic element 23 secured to the soleplate incantilever fashion so as to lie intermediate the contact arms 22 and 22.The bimetallic element 23 responds to an increase in the soleplateambient temperature, defiecting downwardly, thereby contacting the lowercontact arm 22, moving it such that the contacts 21 become disengaged.The temperature at which this is accomplished may be varied, accordingto the type of fabric being ironed, through a thermostatic control rod24, the operation of which will be discussed hereinafter.

A shell or cover 26, made from any suitable material, for example steel,fits over the reservoir 13 and is secured to the soleplate 11 by a stud27, secured to the bracket 14, and a nut 28. Secured to the shell in asuitable manner is a handle 29.

The handle 29, made from any suitable material, for example, phenolic,comprises a front leg 31, rear leg 32 and a hand gripping portion 33formed integrally With the front and rear legs 32 and 33. The front leg31 is hollow as indicated at 34. The hollow portion 34 communicates withthe interior of the reservoir 12 through a cylindrical passage at thetop of the reservoir. A sealing gasket 36 disposed intermediate thepassage and the hollow serves to prevent water from leaking into theinterior of the shell 26 thereby preventing damage to the controls andother components disposed therein. The hollow 34 also communicates witha top surface 37 of the front leg 31 through a vertical bore 38 (seeFIGS. 1 and 2).

A round control knob 35 is rotatably supported on the top surface 37 ofthe front leg 31. The knob 35 (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 7) is provided with acentral bore 30 and a radially spaced aperture 40 communicating with anopen portion 9 in the top thereof (see FIGS. 1 and 7). To secure theknob 35 to the front leg 31 there is provided a sleeve bearing 39 (seeespecially FIGS. 7 and 9) which is insertable through the bore 30 and 38and extends into the hollow 34. The bearing is provided with a hexagonalflange 41 for engaging the top surface of the knob 35 adjacent the bore30 and is externally threaded at its lower end to receive a retainingnut 42 for securing it and the control knob 35 in place on top of theleg 31. The valve stem 19 extends through a central bore in the bearingand a coil spring 43 carried by the valve stem 19 engages washer means44 at the top thereof and pair of protrusions 46 at its bottom and issomewhat compressed therebetween, The spring thuS, serves to bias thevalve stem downwardly or toward the closed position in a conventionalmanner.

The upper terminal portion of the valve stem 19 extends beyond the topof the sleeve bearing 39 and into the open portion 9 for receiving avalve stem lifting arm 47, which fits loosely therearound. A push-onspring clip 48 engages the valve stem 19 in a conventional manner at apoint immediately above the lifting arm 47 thereby serving to limit thevertical movement of the lifting arm 47 on the valve stem 19 such thatwhen an intermediate portion of the arm 47 is fulcrumed by a pin 49carried by the control knob 35, the valve stem 19 will be lifted orraised (see FIG. 7) to open the valve 17. It should be pointed out thatby using the push-on clip 48, the necessity for vertical adjustment ofthe valve stem 19 is eliminated. In prior art steam irons, a screwthread type of adjustment is required to obtain proper verticaldisplacement of the valve stem. This is mainly due to tolerance build-upresulting from the assembly of several parts. The pin 49 contacts theunderside of the lifting arm 47 through the aperture 40 and is rotatablycarried by the knob 35 while being free to move in a vertical plane. Thepin rides on the top surface 37 and cooperates with a cam surface 51which moves the pin upwardly from the surface 37, the pin in turn,moving the lifting arm 47 upwardly while the valve stem 19 issimultaneously moved in the same upwardly direction due to the liftingarm abutting the spring clip 48. The total span of the cam surface 51 isapproximately 82. The free end of the lifting arm 47 extends through anopening at the left of the open portion 9 and abuts a wall 50 whichrestricts movement of the free end of the lifting arm 47 when the end ofthe arm surrounding the valve stem 19 is moved upwardly as discussedabove.

The control knob 35, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 is provided withan annular cam 52 in its underside. The cam 52 engages a cam follower 53(FIGS. 1, 7 and 9) attached to the upper terminal end of the thermostatcontrol rod 24, which is biased upwardly through an opening 55 (seeFIGS. 7 and 9) by an extension on the contact arm 22', and upon rotationof the control knob 35 effects vertical movement of the rod 24 therebyincreasing or decreasing the temperature to which the soleplate 11 willbe raised, depending upon the direction of movement of the control knob35 and corresponding surface of the cam 52 at the rotated position.

A scale bearing member 54 (see particularly FIGS. 7, 8 and 9) carried bythe control knob 35, is provided with indicia indicating the offpositions of which there are two, hi and 10" steaming positions, andother indicia representing the type of fabric to 'be ironed at aparticular setting of the knob 35. The knob 35 is set by turning untilthe desired indicia is aligned with a fixed index 65 embossed orotherwise provided on the hand grip 33.

As the knob 35 is turned, the cam follower 53 moves through an arc of306 along the cam 52 between a first wall 56 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) and asecond wall 57. It will be understood that the walls 56 and 57 act aspositive end stops which abut the cam follower 53, the horizontalposition of which is fixed by the walls defining the opening 55, therebylimiting movement of the control knob 35. The cam 52 comprises identicalhigh portions 58 and 58' adjacent the walls 56 and 57 which portionscorrespond to the two off positions designated on the scale bearingmember 54 (see FIGS. 4, 5, 8 and 9).

A sloping portion 59 (see FIG. 5) of the cam 52 effects movement of thethermostat control rod 24 and, thus, the contact arm 22' downwardly, asthe knob 35 moves clockwise, to increase the temperature at which thecontacts 21 open and close. At the lower end of the sloping portion 59the cam 52 commences to extend upwardly to a rise portion 61 whereat theoperating temperature of the soleplate 11 effected by the verticalpositon of the control rod 24 is suitable for steam ironing. At thispoint the position of the cam follower 53 with respect to the camsurface 51 is such that the rise portion 61 of the cam 52 is engaged bythe cam follower 53 simultaneously with the engagement of the pin 49with the cam surface 51 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 As shown in FIG. 6, astamped sheet metal cover 62 is secured to the soleplate 11 by means ofa silicone adhesive 63 which acts as a seal as well as an adheringagent.

The cover 62 and the soleplate are preferably made from material, forexample, aluminum, having similar thermal expansion properties and thecover material is preferably of a thin gage relative to that of thesoleplate to thereby minimize stress between the cover soleplate andsilasti-c, thus, assuring a longer lasting seal and adhesion.

While there has been shown and described what is at present consideredto be the preferred embodiment of the invention, modifications theretowill readily occur to those skilled in the art. It is not desired,therefore, that the invention be limited to the specific arrangementsshown and described and it is intended to cover in the appended claimsall such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A flat iron comprising: a soleplate; an electrical heating elementfor the soleplate; switch means including a thermostat for maintainingthe temperature of the soleplate substantially constant; means forvarying the temperature at which the soleplate is maintained constant,said means comprising a movable cam, a cam follower, mechanical linkageoperatively connecting the cam follower through said switch means; saidcam having two extreme portions and a plurality of intermediateportions; each of said extreme portions being adapted to cam saidfollower and mechanical linkage for opening said switch means, meansadjacent said extreme portions for limiting movement of said temperaturevarying means relative to said cam follower.

2. A steam iron comprising: a soleplate having a vaporization chamberand discharge ports therefrom through the base of the soleplate, anelectrical heating element for the soleplate, switch means including atemperature responsive element for maintaining the temperature of thesoleplate at a predetermined value, a liquid reservoir, valve means forcontrolling emission of liquid from the reser voir into the vaporizationchamber, a manually movable member having a cam operatively associatedwith the switch means through a first cam follower for regulating thepredetermined temperature at which the soleplate is maintained, a secondcam follower carried by said movable member, means operativelyconnecting said second cam follower to said valve means to regulate theemission of liquid from the reservoir into the vaporization chamber,said cam having an intermediate portion and similarly constructedextreme portions thereadjacent, said extreme portions being adapted tocam said second cam follower to effect opening of said switch means, andmeans adjacent each of said extreme portions for limiting movement ofsaid manually movable member.

3. A steam iron comprising: a soleplate having a vaporization chamberand discharge ports therefrom through the base of the soleplate, anelectrical heating element for the soleplate, switch means including atemperature responsive element for maintaining the temperature of thesoleplate at a predetermined value, a liquid reservoir, valve means forcontrolling emission of liquid from the reservoir into the vaporizationchamber, a handle attached to said soleplate, a manually movable knobsupported by said handel, a cam and a first cam follower carried by saidknob, means operatively connecting said valve means to said first camfollower thereby, a second cam follower, mechanical linkage operativelyconnecting said switch means to said second cam follower, said camhaving an intermediate portion adapted to cam said second cam followerfor varying the predetermined temperature value at which the soleplateis maintained, cam means forming a part of said handle for impartingvertical movement to said first cam follower.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, wherein said means operativelyconnecting said valve means to said first cam follower comprises alifting arm engaged on one end by said first cam follower and having anaperture in its other end loosely receiving the upper portion of a valvestem.

5. Structure as specified in claim 4, including a spring clip fittedsnugly on the valve stem above said lifting arm and adapted to restrainthe upward movement of said lifting arm with respect to said valve stem.

6. A steam iron comprising: a soleplate having a vapor'ization chamberand discharge portion therefrom through the base of the soleplate, anelectrical heating element for the soleplate, switch means including atemperature responsive element for maintaining the temperature of thesoleplate at a predetermined value, a liquid reservoir, means includinga valve stem for controlling emission of liquid from the reservoir intothe vaporization chamber, a handle attached to said soleplate, amanually movable knob supported by said handle, a cam and a first camfollower carried by said knob, means operatively connecting said valvemeans to said first cam follower for movement thereby, a second camfollower, mechanical linkage operatively connecting said switch means tosaid second cam follower, said cam having an intermediate portionadapted to cam said second cam follower for varying the predeterminedtemperature value at which the soleplate is maintained, said camcomprising similarly constructed extreme portions adjacent theintermediate portion, said extreme portions being adapted to cam saidsecond cam follower to effect opening of said switch means, said knobbeing provided with means adjacent each of said extreme portions, eachof said means serving to limit the movement of said knob, said knob isprovided with a vertical wall adjacent each of the horizontal extremeportions, each of said walls serving to limit the movement of said knob.

7. Structure as specified in claim 6, including cam means forming a partof said handle for imparting vertical movement to said first camfollower.

8. Structure as specified in claim 6, wherein said means operativelyconnecting said valve means to said first cam follower comprises alifting arm engaged on one end by said first cam follower and having anaperture in its other end loosely receiving upper portion of a valvestem.

9. Structure as specified in claim 8, including a spring clip fittedsnugly on the valve stem above said lifting arm and adapted to restrainthe upward movement of said lifting arm with respect to said valve stem.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,793,448 5/1957 Duncanson 38-772,887,800 5/ 1959 Kistner 38-77 3,111,780 11/1963 Smith 38--77 3,182,4115/ 1965 Brickner 38-77 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

